Dr. Neil T. Anderson - Discipleship Counseling

2003 Neil T. Anderson

Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Bethany House Publishers edition published 2014

ISBN 978-1-4412-6553-1

Previously published by Regal Books

Ebook edition originally created 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Other versions used are:

KJVKing James Version. Authorized King James Version.

NIVScripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

NKJVScripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

TLBScripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

Cover and interior design by Robert Williams
Edited by Benjamin Unseth

FOREWORD

In my 20-some years of ministry experience, I have led many people to faith in Christ or through some form of discipleship material. I have met with them for counseling and have referred them to the best professionals in the community. Yet in the midst of all these disciplines and advice, I would still see countless dedicated Christian men and women struggling to get free from the emotional problems that beset them. Most of the time they struggle in silence, afraid to tell anyone the truth about how they feel or their real discouragement about the Christian life. This results in an unhealthy church, full of diligent doers who have resigned themselves to believe that this is as good as it gets. The lack of genuine joy, love and freedom of spirit make evangelism and community building very difficult.

If the Holy Spirit is not flowing naturally through church members and is quenched and grieved by unresolved issues of anger, fear, pride and unforgiveness, the average church leader resorts to a program approach to ministry. People are invited to events, service projects, concerts and classes, with no real impact on their maturity in Christ. What is more, the preaching and teaching of Gods Wordwhich is my primary ministry and joybears little fruit.

You can imagine my excitement in learning that Christians can live free and productive lives in Christ! It has been my great privilege and pleasure to have Neil and Joanne Anderson join our church, and I have seen the fruit of their ministry. I have witnessed the power of the truth set people free from bondage and bring closure to issues that have been festering under the surface for years! There is no question in my mind that God has given this hardworking farm boy from Minnesota an insight into the discipleship process that the Church sorely needs. I needed it!

As a pastor, so often I felt the gap between discipleship ministries in the church and the counseling needs of the body. We subtly send the message that spiritual disciplines and emotional problems are unrelated and that the Bible and prayer are great tools for equipping saints in witnessing, but emotional or relational difficulties are contracted out to the local psychologist. Consequently, we have people filled with Bible knowledge but no resolution to the problems and sins that beset them. In pride and fear we cover the insecurity lodged in our hearts. The genius of Neils book is to bring the care of whole persons back into the churchbody, soul and spiritand apply the great New Testament truths of our identity in Christ to the issues that plague us.

This book is not for the timid or passive. It is an intentional strategy to set Christians free from the chains that bind them, and it takes courage and faith to incorporate the reality of the spiritual world. Neil dares to suggest that the spiritual world impacts all we do, and he equips us to deal with these challenges. In a world that can analyze every problem to its smallest component, Neil dares to move us from analysis to closure, to give hope of seeing problems actually resolved. What is more, these principles are completely transferable, so any mature saint can learn the theology of discipleship counseling, be trained in the process and released to minister to ones local body.

This is not new truth. This is ancient, New Testament truth that the modern Church, infatuated with rationalism and secular psychology, has neglected to her own hurt. What pleasure it must bring the Savior to see His people rediscovering their identity and authority as His beloved children.

May this book serve to transform your congregation, as it is transforming mine!

Sandy Mason

Pastor, Desert View Bible Church

Phoenix, Arizona

INTRODUCTION

When I pastored a church, there were people in our congregation with problems that I did not have answers for, and that really bothered me. I believed that Christ was the answer for hurting people in this fallen world and I believed that biblical truth would set them free, but I was not seeing it happen in the lives of our people. When the Lord called me to teach at Talbot School of Theology, I requested permission to offer a master of theology elective to discover why we were not seeing more fruit from all our programs and ministries. Eighteen students enrolled the first year, and I felt like I was in the second grade, teaching first-grade students. The next year, 23 signed up; then 35; then 65; then 150 and finally 250 students signed up for a one-week summer elective. I was starting to see the lives of the students change as they discovered who they were in Christ and as they resolved personal and spiritual conflicts through genuine repentance.

My search led me through two huge paradigm shifts in my thinking. First, I realized that I had not fully understood the gospel, especially as it related to who believers are in Christ. Jesus did not come just to die on the cross for our sins, He also came to give us life in Christ. As a result, Christians are new creations in Christ, which means that they can be free from their past and are free to be all that God created them to be, as well as many other blessings. Indeed, it was for this freedom that Christ set us free (see Gal. 5:1). Second, my Western education had skewed my worldview, which left me with an inadequate understanding of the spiritual world. Jesus did not come just to forgive our sins and give us life; He came to undo the works of Satan (see 1 John 3:8).

As the Lord was renewing my mind, He began to direct hurting people to me. I wanted a biblical answer for these dear believers who desperately wanted to live liberated and productive lives in Christ. I also knew the message and method had to be academically credible and wholistic, or the Christian community as a whole would not accept it. Many wounded and anxious Christians waded through the process of learning with me. I had to tell some that I did not know how to solve their problems but Jesus did; and if they were willing to work with me, I would continue to pursue God for an answer. Over time and through much learning and experience, I began to see the Lord set captives free and bind up the brokenhearted.